Quality Water Storage Tanks

Copyright 2012 www.clarktanks.com.au

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 Water Tanks: Back To Basics Water Conservation

5 Different Water Tank Types And Their Specific Functions

7 Rainwater Tanks: A Simple System To Help You

Save On Water Costs

9 Why “Green” Experts Recommend Slimline Water

Tanks

11 Poly Tanks Versus Steel Tanks – Which Type Is

Better?

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Water Tanks: Back To Basics Water Conservation

Water shortage remains to be

a big issue even in the most

developed countries. There

are areas that are just difficult

for most water companies to

reach and supply clean water

to, hence the need for most

households to have water

tanks installed so they can

store their purchased potable

water safely. There are areas with increased development and water

resources get depleted because of the great demand, and as a result,

households require a supplemental source—like harvested rainwater—

that they can use for certain household tasks that do not require

purified water like gardening, bathing the pets, and washing the car.

As the world continues to deal with water supply issues, a lot of people

have resorted to utilising old-fashioned methods of storing water, not

only for storage purposes, but also as both an environmentally-

conscious effort and a way to save on water costs. Water tanks are

especially effective tools for these purposes and there are different

types that homeowners can choose from to fit their household’s

specific needs.

Concrete water tanks are also called underground water tanks because

they are created along with the site. Load bearing is installed over this

kind of tank to provide it a solid and stable pavement or foundation.

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Most homeowners prefer this because it does not obstruct the

landscape of the property.

The second type is the Polyethylene tank, commonly known as Poly

tank. This type can be used above or underground. It has the lightest

weight among all the tank types, and that’s why installing it for any site

is pretty easy. It has a nice aesthetic effect as well because it can come

in different colours, shapes, and sizes. They are perfect for storing

water used for drinking and food preparation.

Rainwater tanks are considered the most environment-friendly as they

harvest rainwater from the roof that course down through the gutter.

Barns typically use them because the water quality is perfect for

watering crops and feeding livestock. They come in different sizes.

Traditionally, farmers used wooden barrels to collect the harvested

rainwater instead of galvanised tanks.

The last type is the Slimline Tank which is either made from galvanised

or stainless steel. It’s the standard design of most water tanks these

days and they effectively keep water clean and safe to use.

While there are folks who find having a water tank installed on their

property rather retrogressive in appeal, nobody can really dispute how

amazingly they work to conserve water and lessen water costs. So if it’s

a desire to save water and money, yet still have a steady supply of H2O

for different household needs, the sure, smart thing to do is to install

and use a water tank.

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Different Water Tank Types And Their Specific Functions

Water tanks are used both by common

household and big industrial facilities. For a

typical household, a water tank is simply a water

supply storage system while for industrial

facilities their function can actually be more

complex; it can be directly connected to a

cooling system or energy generator.

There are different water tank types and they

are selected according to their purpose for the

site they will be installed in. Tanks are basically

just installed two ways: above the ground or

below it.

An underground water tank type is often a large

synthetic container (either plastic or

polyethylene) that securely holds water supply under the ground. This type is

used for homes that do not want an elevated structure messing with their

landscape, resorts, campgrounds, and construction sites.

Steel tanks are perhaps the most recognisable among all the types. They are

either made from stainless or galvanised steel, and are always elevated as they

are subject to corrosion. The common problem that people have with this type is

that because of its properties, water quality can easily get compromised. There

are instances when the water that comes out of the tap is discoloured and have

bits of corroded material. Steel tank manufacturers nowadays, however, are

lining the insides of these steel tanks with polyurethane to prevent interior

corrosion and also so the quality of the water stored is preserved better.

Fibreglass tanks on the other hand, are the choice alternative of most people for

steel tanks. They are durable and can withstand extreme changes in temperature

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better. They are ideal for above the ground installation and can hold up to one

hundred ten thousand litres of water.

Polyethylene tanks are more versatile as they can be used both for above the

ground and underground installation. Homeowners actually prefer this because

they are incredibly durable and can hold great volumes of water – from a few

hundreds to over fifty thousand litres. They come in different colours as well as

both corrugated and non-corrugated finishes.

Now, PVC tanks are the most commonly used for rainwater harvest. They’re

basically large barrels used for under-house or under-deck applications. They’re

held up by wood or steel frames.

Last type is the concrete tank which can hold up to a million litres of water. This

type is what’s used by big construction industries, resorts, and vacation grounds

like campsites. It can be installed above or underground. The great advantage of

concrete tanks is that they can keep water cool because light and heat from the

sun cannot penetrate the material.

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Rainwater Tanks: A Simple System To Help You Save On

Water Costs

Water shortages are cropping up in barns and

farms all over nowadays—at times due to the

long dry season (which is becoming much longer)

and sometimes because people just draw too

heavily on the usual water resources, resulting in

critically low water level for the reservoir.

Most barns these days are putting up rainwater

tanks to capture rainwater (and sometimes even

snow) that can be used to water crops and

provide livestock with H2O. This is already a good

start but a strategic installation of the tank can

enhance its function. Not too many people know

that this water storage system can be tweaked a

bit with a soaker hose to take advantage of the

top and subsoil’s ability to soak up and store

water that plants can make use of over time. So if

the customised rainwater tank is placed close to where crops are grown, there

may be no need to spend a lot of money on irrigation.

A lot of households canalso use the supply from these tanks for their laundry and

outhouses. As the toilet and the washing machine make use of great volumes of

water every time, using the reservoir from the rainwater tank easily cuts down

water expenses. In Japan, a big baseball stadium in Tokyo uses harvested

rainwater for all the toilets and the administration of the stadium said that they

were able to cut their overall expenses by as much as forty-five per cent. The

system used by the stadium is way more sophisticated but the innovative

technology was revealed to have stemmed from the concept of a typical

rainwater tank.

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Aside from these, with the right technology, water from rainwater tanks can also

be purified to be safe for drinking and cooking. The installation of the rainwater

tank paired with the water purification technology has a rather high upfront cost

but the amount of monthly savings on water costs can easily make up for the

initial cost of the investment, so in the long run, you would have saved as much as

half of your usual budget allotment for water expenses.

Rainwater tanks are very easy to maintain. Manufacturers advise using the stored

water regularly so the tank will have space for “new” water whenever it rains or

snows. It’s also important to regularly clean them to make sure that the water is

free from insects, debris, or certain build-up. If you would take note of these tips,

not only will you maximise your efforts to store rainwater for the different needs

of your household or barn, but you get to maximise your savings as well.

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Why “Green” Experts Recommend Slimline Water Tanks

A lot of households these days are

incorporating “green” ways to improve

the quality of their living set up. The

effort to become environmentally-friendly

is proving to be not just an effective

method of caring for the earth but also of

securing more savings in the bank.

Initially, it was just about properly

segregating waste, and then it was

followed by using energy- and cost-

efficient appliances, and then it was

controlling the flow of water from toilets

and showers. These days, green experts

are recommending the switch to slimline

water tanks.

The installation of a slimline water tank for your home will instantly reduce your

usage of chlorine-treated water from water companies and your expenses as well.

Come to think of it, most people do not really need chlorine-treated water much

except for washing dishes and bathing since they feel safer consuming purified or

distilled drinking water which can be purchased from the grocer. Just think of how

much money you can save by not using municipal water for the different chores

you do on a regular basis, such as washing the car, doing the laundry, watering

the plants, giving the pets a bath, et cetera. Also, by reducing your usage of

“processed” water, you get to lessen your carbon footprint, which is a must these

days because of the environmental imbalance that the earth is already suffering

from.

While the benefits are usually convincing factors, most homeowners think that

their space is not big enough to accommodate the installation of slimline water

tanks. But with the latest designs and the improved technology, manufacturers

can easily customise these tanks’ sizes to fit whatever space available. It’s also

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important to point out that while they’re highly functional, they are also rather

stylish. They come in a wide variety of sizes and colours that homeowners can

choose from so there’s no need to compromise the exterior appearance of the

house. Oftentimes, people get this idea that an environmentally-friendly system

is crude-looking and a definite downgrade aesthetics-wise, but most slimline

water tanks created these days are so easy to integrate to the exterior design of

any home since they’re compact and sleek.

Another reason why “green” experts recommend slimline water tanks is that

some governments, like Australia’s, provide cash rebates to homeowners who

install them because they serve as encouragement to other homeowners to make

use of these water storage systems to alleviate the water shortage problem.

Surely, nothing beats doing the environment good and getting rewarded for doing

so.

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Poly Tanks Versus Steel Tanks – Which Type Is Better?

If you have finally been convinced to

install a water tank for your

supplemental water supply, the next

thing to do is determine what type of

tank would suit your needs best. Should

you go for the original designs which are

made of steel or do you want something

that looks more modern? Do you have

enough space in your property for an

elevated water tank or do wish to

conceal your water reservoir

underground so as not to ruin the

present landscape of your property?

These are just some of the questions you

need to answer when choosing between the common types of water tanks

available in the market. For most people, getting around this deciding part is just

a matter of comparing the pros and cons of poly tanks (or polyethylene) and steel

tanks.

Steel tanks are the most familiar to people since they can only be installed above

the ground and big industries use them for water storage. They can hold bigger

volumes of water and they are quite durable as long as maintained properly.

They come in two kinds, regular steel and stainless steel. They are cheap—well,

relatively cheaper in comparison to the other options for tank material. Steel

water tanks are heavy so they’re not as easy to install, but it’s important to point

out that they are environmentally friendly because they can easily be recycled (as

stainless steel is used for all sorts of products, from bicycle frames, jewellery, et

cetera).Regular steel tanks, however, corrode easily; they rust both externally and

internally, therefore compromising the quality of the water they store. They’re

surely not an option to consider for drinking and laundry water so it’s safer to go

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for the stainless steel type. Another issue with steel tanks is that on a really hot

day, the stored water also gets really hot.

Polyethylene or poly tanks, on the other hand, can be installed both above and

underground. It can also hold great volumes of water: about 110,000 litres. They

are rather lightweight so they are quite easy to install. Poly tanks have more

versatility style-wise as they can be moulded according to the space allotted for

them and they come in a wide array of colours. They are quite durable as well and

are perfect for storing water to be used for food preparation and drinking. The

problem that most people have with them, however, is that their composition

does not make them environmentally-friendly; they are also not recyclable.

Poly tanks and steel tanks both have strong and weak points, but depending on

your purpose for installing a water tank, you should be able to determine which

type of water tank would suit you better.